Council contenders talk housing and preservation

BY LEVAR ALONZO | On Thurs., Aug. 24, at the La Mama Theater, four of the five candidates running for City Council in District 2 held forth on issues concerning housing and preservation at a forum sponsored by six local community groups.

The City Council seat, currently held by Rosie Mendez, is opening up for the first time in 12 years. Mendez will be term-limited out of office at the end of this year. Mendez sat in the audience listening to what her possible successors had to say.

The basement theater was standing-room only as community members packed the place to hear the candidates’ views on issues ranging from affordable housing to the old P.S. 64 building and what will be done about the lax regulations by the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

“We are here to listen to the candidates particularly on the issue of housing and preservation,” said Steve Herrick, executive director of the Cooper Square Committee, one of the co-sponsors. “From this we should get an idea of what they stand for on housing and aim to do.”

The old P.S. 64, the former CHARAS / El Bohio Cultural and Community Center, has sat vacant for more than 15 years. Developer Gregg Singer plans to create a dorm there. Villager file photos by Lincoln Anderson

One of the most pressing issues, which was raised by Andrew Berman, executive director of the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, was if the candidates supported the society’s proposed rezoning of the Broadway / University Place corridor in tandem with the city’s plan for a “tech hub” at the P.C. Richard site at 124 E. 14th St. As Berman read his question aloud, many in the audience held up signs that read, “Tech hub must include zoning protection.” The proposed 258,000-square-foot building is slated to include a jobs-training facility and space for local tech start-ups.

“This new hub will be the front door for tech in New York city,” Mayor Bill de Blasio declared in a previous statement when design renderings of the building were revealed.

However, community groups and Councilmember Mendez stress that the city must first approve the proposed zoning protections in order for the City Council to O.K. the project.

All four candidates at the forum — Ronnie Cho, Carlina Rivera, Mary Silver and Jorge Vasquez — said they were in support of the proposed rezoning. All stated that a priority, if elected, would be to preserve the East Village / Lower East Side, and acknowledged that the community is extremely passionate about stopping the proliferation of out-of-scale development.

“We don’t need more Silicon Valley bros in the Lower East Side and in our community,” Cho said. “We have to keep the East Village weird.”

Developer Gregg Singer said his plan is to open up this wall on the E. 10th St. side of the old P.S. 64 with windows, which would “add life to the street.” However, local activists want community life restored to the building by returning it to its former use as a community center.

An important issue that had the audience intently hanging onto the candidates’ every word was what their plans were for the old P.S. 64 / former CHARAS-El Bohio community and cultural center.

“We dropped the ball on buying the building,” said Vasquez. He said he supports restoring the building as a cultural center with community access.

“We need to provide a space for our kids and the elderly,” Silver said. As opposed to Vasquez, she said she believes the community will have to work with the current owner if the building is to be regained.

For nearly 20 years, the vacant former school building has been owned by Gregg Singer, who has ideas of redeveloping it as a for-profit college dormitory. The historic building was landmarked nearly 10 years ago, blocking Singer from demolishing it.

Another key issue at the forum was to find out the candidates’ ideas on how to hold the city’s Landmark Preservation Commission accountable. The community feels the commission has allowed increasingly noncontextual changes to landmarked buildings and allowed new construction within the East Village Historic District.

“Yes, I agree we need to hold the Landmark Commission accountable in following regulations,” said Rivera, who is a former district leader and Mendez aide. “I will work to ensure that the public have the tools to make sure the commission is held to its mandate.”

At one point around the middle of the event, Cho spoke of the need to break away from the establishment, and Mendez stood up and put out her hands as it to say, “Here I am!” Rivera, who spoke next, was then heckled by an apparent Vasquez supporter, who angrily accused her of being Mendez’s “handpicked candidate.” The crowd collectively shushed the woman, but after two more outbursts by her, everyone told her to just leave, and she did.

Over all, the forum provided residents with a baseline of how the candidates viewed preserving the community and making sure housing stays affordable. Many residents said they fear that the city will tear down their landmark buildings and bring in more and more bars and usher in a new “tech community” in their neighborhood.

Vasquez left the audience with a lasting sentiment that resonated their fears and concerns about rampant change within their community.

“Why is it easier to get a mimosa than a sandwich in our community or bring back our bodegas?” he asked.

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